


Greedy Life

by Lack_of_Common_Sense



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Blood and Gore, Cynicism, Dark, Humor, M/M, Vampires, actually good even if I do say so myself, creep-o-factor 5/10
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-06-11 15:36:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15318651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lack_of_Common_Sense/pseuds/Lack_of_Common_Sense
Summary: Levi, a vampire hunter, chances upon a naïve boy while on a hunt. Having saved the brat inadvertently, he soon finds out that it's in Eren's best interest to leave the neighbourhood, and decides to take him along in order to bring him to the safest place he can think of. However, being near the kid makes him uneasy — for one, he's always been a solo hunter. More importantly, he can feel himself fall already...(I don't shy away from graphic descriptions. You have been warned.)





	1. Mayfly's Song

**Author's Note:**

> I have a poem for this, and if I feel like it, I might post it into the end notes.
> 
> Leave a comment. Or don't. Your life, your choices. ;-)

The crescent moon was overhead, and not a cloud shaded the starry sky. The air was cold, but unmoving – not a branch shook in a breeze, not a blade of grass bent down to caress the soil. Not a sound could be heard. The area was dead. Animals had fled, birds had changed their nests, not even insects’ swarms considered this place safe. It was a ruin of a once grand castle, now just bones of its former glory, reaching up to the Heavens like an open ribcage of a long deceased never-was.

There were rumours of ghosts roaming the crumbling rooms, and skeletons shambling about in the moat. False, baseless rumours, folk tales to keep children out of that place, because the ground here was unstable and if a careless, unthinking fool were to stomp over the remnants of the courtyard, he’d likely fall through the dilapidated paving to the darkness of the just as decrepit catacombs, where naught but death awaited.

Despite all that, a youngster was slowly making his way uphill towards the castle. Should a hidden observer pay closer attention, they’d see that the boy was very thin and his clothes, though clean, were barely holding in one piece due to overuse. They seemed a little small, too – likely, he’d had these for years, and when he started growing quickly, because adolescence holds no mercy for the unprepared, the clothes did not grow with him. There were apparent traces of repeated patching. Whoever cared for this boy could not afford to buy a new set. The child himself seemed barely fed. Everything about him hinted that he was barely scraping by, more surviving rather than living.

The boy gangled up the main staircase and staggered his way further in through the gaping outline of what once used to be a gate, thus entering the yard. His unsteady legs appeared to know his course, as he slowly dragged himself up another flight of stairs, miraculously evading every hole and each loose stone which could have easily and abruptly ended his youthful days. Dragging his bare feet over the floor, only barely staying upright at certain times, he entered the ruins of the building, not minding the rubble scratching his skin.

His arms were swaying limp by his sides, and his gait did not have any rhythm. Eyes, though wide open, were unfocused, and watering, too – perhaps he forgot to blink, perhaps he was unable to. His chapped lips were slightly parted, but the corners of his mouth had risen in a suggestion of an insane smile. His breath was unsteady and heavy, and despite the cold night’s air, droplets of sweat were forming on his forehead, as he was doddering down the corridor.

Teetering like a new-born fawn, with joints buckling and head heavy, he pressed on, heeding a call not a soul but himself could hear. Though his physical form seemed to be asleep, though he stubbed a toe more than once, though his feet were getting bloody, he wouldn’t stop.

Having stumbled into one of the bigger rooms, his knees gave way and he fell face-first onto the floor. With great difficulty, as though his arms and legs wanted to disobey him, he managed to get to his knees; shakily, he continued, crawling towards the door on the other side of the room tenaciously. As there was no ceiling, the scarce moonlight cast shadows over blurred outlines of statues mutilated by the merciless tooth of time, covered in moss and lichen, but the boy did not stop to spare them a single glance.

He scrambled up to the door handle, hanging onto it like a drowning man would cling to a piece of wood. Recklessly, he opened it and fell again, uncaring that there should not have been a door there in the first place.

“So, you came,” a voice like a million distant silver bells echoed through the air, and the boy’s entire body jerked violently, as though those words were a whip hitting his unprotected mind. Once more, he got up on all fours, and clambered clumsily over the debris on the floor towards the holder of the voice.

“I came, my lady,” he breathed out, looking up at the slim silhouette sitting in front of him. A pale, graceful hand lightly caressed his messy chestnut hair. The woman smiled, and let him rest his head on her lap. He had the expression of a man long lost in the desert, who had found an oasis after many excruciating days of parched throat.

“Well done, boy,” she said, running her finger along his lower jaw. “Say, could I ask something of you?”

“Anything, my lady,” he perked up, his innocent eyes locking with hers. “I shall forever be your humble servant.”

“Excellent.” She got up and gestured for him to do so as well. Once he was facing her and she stood tall above him, she whispered: “Close your eyes, boy.” Her fingertips were trembling with anticipation as she slowly led them over the boy’s exposed neck.

His eyelids lowered, and the woman examined his complexion, her touch light like feathers. Then, she loomed over him, inhaling deeply; her rose-coloured lips parted and revealed a glint of sharp fangs, as she prepared to drink from her bewitched prey, her long silky hair veiling the boy’s frail form.

A twang of a crossbow’s string, and the woman flew back from the boy with an inhuman screech, clutching her neck. A wooden bolt was sticking out between her fingers, the white feathers at its end contrasting with the blackness of her hair. Her before so beautiful face was now contorted in anger and pain, as she searched the room for the attacker.

The boy collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

A man stepped out of the shadows, a reloaded crossbow in his hand. It needs to be said he’d appear much more imposing, if he were at least a tad taller. The vampiress attempted to lunge towards him, but found herself only twitching like an injured fowl; there was no grace left in her movements.

“What did you do?!” she barked accusingly, as she felt her strength slowly slip away. “It burns!” She fell to her knees.

The man aimed the crossbow at her, and another bolt hit her shoulder. “Of course it does,” he scowled at her. “I would be in trouble if it didn’t.” He took another step closer to her, pulling out a knife. “I coated my silver arrowheads with coal dust,” he explained as he grabbed her hair and yanked her head back. “The glint of metal could have announced my presence, and that would be troublesome for me. And it seems like the coal slows down your reaction to it. Interesting.”

“How… how come I didn’t sense you?” she let out between her clenched teeth. “I should have at least smelled you…”

“Why should I tell you my secrets? It’s too damn easy to bring your kind back to life,” he bellowed, pressing his knife against her throat, and he watched the pale turn black, as the silver burned her skin at tremendous speed. He applied more pressure on the blade, slowly cutting through the vampire’s flesh. She watched him with eyes widened in shock.

“Your hypnosis won’t work on me, either,” he informed her, “you can stop trying.”

A flash in her eyes warned him to roll to the side quickly. The youngster, who was lying on the ground behind him, jumped forward, and had the man not moved away, he’d have gotten bashed with a stone the youngster grabbed off the floor.

The man jumped to his feet, eyeing his suddenly arisen foe. Clearly, the boy did not have a hold of his own senses – the way he moved made him seem like a puppet, and the man was aware who exactly was the puppeteer.

The youngster, clutching the stone in so hard his hand was trembling, attacked again, swept forward by a force that was not his own. The man, unfazed by this, sidestepped him and hit the back of the boy’s head with the hilt of his dagger.

The boy grunted and fell on the ground once more. There was a groan, as he let go of the rock and curled up, holding his head. “Owwwww…”

The man turned towards the vampiress, who was vainly trying to pull out the silver bolts corroding her from the inside. As he stepped closer, his footsteps echoing through the now silent room, she looked at him and attempted to back away – only to hit a wall almost immediately.

“How is it?” the man asked, nearing her with no rush in his stride.

“How is what?” she choked out; her body was shaking and she had difficulties speaking.

“The taste of fear,” he knelt next to her and looked her in the eye.

“You’re enjoying this,” she said, disbelief resounding in her silvery voice.

“Wouldn’t you?” he replied indifferently, and maintaining eye contact, he put his blade to her throat again. “Remember me,” he growled. “Remember this face. If some idiot resurrects you, I’ll hunt you down again.” With that, he ran the blade through her heart.

When he proceeded to cut her head off, he heard fumbling behind his back, and he did not need to look back to know what was going on behind him. “You alright, kid?” he said, grabbing the head as he got up.

“W… What’s going on? Where am I?”

“Would you prefer the longer version, or the shorter one?” the man stuffed the head into a sac he pulled from his pocket, and finally turned around.

“This is… the castle?” the boy didn’t answer. “What am I doing here?”

The man didn’t bother to say anything, and he walked over to the shadows where he was hidden. There was a hole in the wall leading into the next room, and he climbed through it. Metallic clinking could be heard for a few moments, then he threw a bag back inside and followed after it.

“Who’re you?” said the boy in the end; he hadn’t moved, likely out of fear of falling through the floor.

“A hunter,” the man picked up the bag and threw it on his back, the sack with the head now dangling in his hand. “You’re from the village, I assume?”

“Y-Yessir.” The youngster hesitantly walked over to the man.

“Your name?” the man eyed him from head to toe, clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction – what about, the boy did not know.

“I’m Eren, sir. Eren Jaeger.”

The man scoffed and turned to walk outside; Eren followed closely behind, and though his feet were probably hurting, he didn’t make a single noise that would indicate he was in pain. “Is there something funny about my name, sir?”

“Jäger means hunter in German,” the hunter replied.

Eren glanced to the side and noticed a headless corpse there; he made a gagging sound, quickly looking away, and he closed the distance between him and the stranger.

There was a while of silence, then the boy said, “The longer version, if you don’t mind, sir. We’ve a long way to the village.”

“So, you _did_ hear me,” the hunter said. “Fine. There was a vampire in this castle,” he held up the bag with the head, “it hypnotized you, so you came here, and I killed it before it could feed on you.”

“That’s the _longer_ version?” Eren suddenly felt like he shouldn’t ask about the shorter one in that case. The man nodded in response to his question.

“So you’re a _vampire hunter_?” the boy said, and there was something in his voice that made the hunter turn to look at him.

“What?”

“Well… you’re a little… short,” Eren murmured.

“You’re a little _alive_ ,” the hunter retorted. “Don’t make me fix that.”

“I’m sorry, sir! I didn’t mean to offend—”

“Has nobody taught you to think before you speak?” the hunter gave him a glare, then he resumed his pace.

“I’m very sorry! I just thought, well… that vampire hunters were…” he trailed off. “I’ll shut up now.”

“You do that,” the hunter snapped at him, and there was another pause filled only with their footsteps, as they walked down the crumbling stairs to the yard.

“Sir?”

“What _now?_ ” the hunter said, clearly displeased that the kid simply wouldn’t keep quiet.

“May I… would you tell me your name?” Eren asked, his voice trembling slightly as he stepped on a sharp rock.

“It’s Levi. And if you want to ask anything else, do it now, because I’m getting fed up with your rambling.”

Eren’s breath hitched audibly, but against his better judgement, he opened his mouth to speak again. “That’s… the vampire’s head in the… right? What are you going to do with it?”

“Mount it on my wall,” Levi replied, and when there was no response, he glanced at the now perturbed Eren. “For crying out loud, have you _never_ encountered sarcasm?”

Eren looked away and kept silent. Seeing this, Levi assumed the kid was offended by what just happened, and so he explained. “I’m turning it to the VHA. Even in a shithole like this, they should have an office, and I’ll be handsomely rewarded.”

“The VHA?”

“Have you been living under a rock, brat?” Levi frowned. “The Vampire Hunters’ Association.”

“Oh, those guys? I thought they were a fraud.” Eren jumped over a hole in the ground and hissed shortly, regretting the jump immediately. His feet hurt more and more by the second.

“I hope not.” Levi, who was a bit ahead, stopped to wait for the youngster. “If they _are,_ though, I’ll get rid of them on the VHA’s behalf. That should earn me a little extra.”

“Get rid of… do you kill people, too?” Eren caught up with Levi, and the latter instantly turned away to continue down the steep path.

“Only if there’s no other way. There are all kinds of people, and if someone is after my life, I’ll kill them, humans or not.”

“I see…” Eren mumbled thoughtfully, then he raised his voice a little, “Are you a member of the Association, sir Levi?”

“Lower your voice,” Levi barked, “do you _want_ to attract more night-time predators? And no, I’m not. I work on my own,” he added over Eren’s embarrassed ‘sorry’. “Also, pick one, either sir, or Levi. It’s somewhat annoying when you use both.”

“I understand, sir. Sorry, sir.”

Levi eyed Eren to search for any traces of sarcasm, but found none whatsoever. “You’re awfully curious,” he stated in the end. Eren didn’t react to that unspoken question, and Levi left it be. “My turn to ask,” he said instead. “How old are you, brat?”

“Se-Seventeen, sir. At the end of this month.”

“Sixteen still, then.” Levi shrugged his shoulders. “Shouldn’t you know better at this age than to search for secret trysts with vampires?”

“What do you mean, sir? I didn’t… I don’t know what happened, sir. I only came to in that room.”

“That so.” It wasn’t a question. Eren didn’t know what to say, so he simply followed Levi; he felt lost. There was so much more he wanted to ask, but this man did not seem eager to hear him out. Quite the contrary.

They came near the village and Levi turned back to glance at Eren. “Before you run home, can you show me the VHA’s office?”

“Of-of course, sir!” Eren brightened up – though why, Levi didn’t understand.

Side by side, they walked through between the houses. Rather than a village, it seemed like a small town. There were streetlamps, though scarce, and several shops. At this time of night, they were all closed, as it was well past midnight.

“That building there, sir,” Eren pointed across the street. “If it’s alright with you, I’ll go home now.” He pointed behind himself over his shoulder.

Levi watched his gesture and his eyes fell on a ruin of a house if there ever was one. “ _That’s_ where you live?” he said, hardly believing that.

“Yessir,” Eren nodded. “Good night, sir.” With that, before Levi could say anything, he disappeared inside.

Levi shook his head and walked over to the VHA’s office building. It was a shabby-looking one, and the office was right next to a buffet. The buffet seemed in a much better shape, though.

Having examined the place, and consequently coming to the conclusion the place was genuine, Levi raised his hand to knock, but then he hesitated. He stood there for several seconds, unmoving, then he turned on his heel and returned to what Eren had the gall to call home. Without reservations, he stepped inside.

“Hey, kid,” he said, kicking the mattress Eren was curled up on. Eren jumped, backing away.

“Y-Yessir?”

“Your feet will get infected if you don’t clean the cuts.” Levi grabbed Eren’s ankles and forcibly straightened the youngster’s legs.

“I’ll be fine, sir,” Eren said quickly – a little too quickly to Levi’s liking.

“You got a problem?” Levi bellowed. “I’ve saved your life, the least you could do is humour me and wash your damn feet. Or, better yet, you just sit there and don’t move. I’ll do it for you, before you worsen it.”

“You don’t need to—”

“Shut the fuck up.” Levi was a man of many virtues, but patience was not among them. “Where’s your washbowl?”

Not long after, Levi had a basin full of water from the nearby well, he even got a fire going in what was left of the fireplace, and now was watching the bowl so that the water wouldn’t get too hot. “So, what’s your deal?” he said.

“I don’t understand the question, sir,” Eren said sheepishly.

Levi scowled a little. “Why would you reject people’s help?” he rephrased. “Why do you live in this ruin of a house? Don’t you have a family?”

Eren looked away. “There’s no family,” he breathed out. “I don’t know my father, and my mother was killed when I was younger. I do have friends… _did_ have friends. But they’re out of town now, and probably won’t be coming back. The neighbours…” his voice threatened to break at that word, “think I bring bad luck, and they avoid me. They’d leave food for me when I’m not nearby, but… this kind of life is slowly killing me, sir.”

“Bullshit,” Levi murmured, grabbing the washbowl; he brought it over to Eren’s bed and set it on the ground. “And the house?” he asked, as he grabbed Eren’s left foot and dunked it into the warm water.

Eren hissed when Levi’s hands began rubbing his stinging wounds. “It burned down. That’s why people think I bring bad luck.”

“Also bullshit.” Levi rolled up Eren’s trousers up to his knees. “That’s why you don’t have better clothes,” he said, as though confirming a previous hunch. “Because you can’t buy them.”

“Nobody would sell them to me even if I had the money, sir,” Eren hung his head.

Levi looked at the boy in fascination. Even in such a situation, the thought of stealing hadn’t so much as crossed Eren’s mind. He refrained from pointing it out, though, worried that it might lead Eren astray. He’d hate to be the one to start planting bad ideas in this kid’s head.

“Sir…” Eren watched Levi wash his foot thoroughly, and when Levi reached for the other one, the boy finally mustered up the courage to ask, “What does one have to do to become a vampire hunter?”

“Forget it. Even living in this ruin and relying on what remains of people’s goodwill is better than that,” Levi shook his head.

“Sir. _Please_ ,” Eren insisted. “It has never been confirmed, but it’s likely that my mother died to a vampire’s fangs. If there’s any chance of avenging her, I have to at least die trying.”

Levi stared into the boy’s determined eyes, hoping to find anything that could stop him from answering Eren, but he found naught. “Good grief.” He made Eren lie down, and went to dispose of the dirty water. He returned soon after and sat on the ground beside the mattress.

Eren watched him, his face full of curiosity.

“You’ve got three options,” Levi said after a while of silence. “One – become a hunter by yourself. That’s generally ill-advised, since most of those who try that end up dying. I’m saying this especially for you, because you somehow look like you’d go for that without a moment’s thought.”

Eren propped up on his elbows. “What’s the other two options?”

“Find yourself a mentor, or join the VHA, where they’ll assign you one.”

Eren’s eyes widened even more. “Sir, would you—”

“No.”

“I haven’t said anything yet!”

“I refuse to babysit a barely grown brat.” Levi shoved Eren closer to the wall. “Move. I’ll sleep here, too.”

“But—”

“No buts. You can come with me to the office in the morning, and we’ll ask about your joining.” Levi flopped onto the mattress and turned his back to Eren.

Eren tried getting his attention again, but vainly – it seemed that Levi had fallen asleep the moment he was done talking.


	2. A Doll of Clay

Having woken up extremely early, Levi got up and went to get some water to wash his face. The chilly morning left a thin layer of ice at the bottom of the bucket near the well, and when he lowered it to the water surface, a quiet sound let him know that the water in the well hadn’t been spared, either. The square was empty and even though there was light coming from several windows, the town was asleep. The lights had gone out by this point, so everything was shrouded in blue gloom. The clouds were hanging low. The smell of water in the air hinted it might rain soon. There was a haze of mist, though faint, and in it, the town seemed otherworldly.

Levi returned to the house and entered the room again silently, eyeing the sleeping child. Eren was curled up in the corner, and even in his sleep, he was slightly shivering. That was hardly surprising – he clothes he was wearing certainly couldn’t provide enough warmth.

He was thin and had barely any muscle, and Levi wondered if it were really a good idea to let this weakling of a boy become a vampire hunter. As Levi wasn’t a member of the VHA, he doubted himself suitable to teach anyone, let alone a mind this fresh and young. He was a solo hunter, a survivalist, and he’d managed to live for so long only through being on his own. Due to his solitude, he had grown unlikable and prickly, and although he was somewhat aware of that himself, he had no desire to change a thing. To take care of a brat after years of not having to watch out for anyone other than himself, he knew that it could kill the kid within the first few days. Not to mention he was a bad example through and through.

“Hm?” he noticed something on Eren’s exposed skin and leaned closer, examining it. To his surprise, there were bite marks at the back of his neck. With suspicion growing, he tugged Eren’s shirt up and found more, some of them older, but some relatively recent. All of them were in places the boy couldn’t see, mostly upper back and neck. Levi pursed his lips; clearly, the child had been continuously fed upon before Levi’s arrival.

“Sir…?” Eren woke up, and seeing that Levi was lifting his shirt, he jumped away and hit the wall. “What—”

“You’ve got vampire bites all over your back,” Levi growled before Eren could blurt out something he’d then regret. “Have you not noticed anything weird?”

Eren’s eyes widened. “I don’t recall anyth… where?” he made a fruitless attempt to turn and look at his back.

Levi tapped his knee, thinking. He’d tell Eren to take his shirt off and then he’d point out each and every one of them, but the March morning was mercilessly cold, and there would be little point in doing so. After all, Eren was unable to see them.

“Let’s go,” he said instead, getting up.

“Where to?” Eren scrambled to his feet, almost falling over.

“To the VHA’s office. Where else?” Levi eyed him from head to toe, then followed up with a question, “Have you no shoes, boy?”

“I’ve grown out of them,” Eren looked down. While Levi couldn’t understand why the boy would feel ashamed about that, the lack of shoes was rather troublesome.

“Let’s go,” the hunter repeated. “And before we knock there, go wash your face. You need to show your determination, not these sleepy eyes.”

“Yessir!” Eren ran out past Levi into the fog. Levi followed him slowly.

As soon as he got to the other side of the street, Eren was back, water dripping from his face and hair. His breathing was heavy, since he did the whole procedure in a rush, but his expression was eager and if he had a tail, he would be wagging it so quickly it would be impossible to follow with a naked eye.

Levi raised his hand and knocked on the wood of the door.

For a good while, nothing was happening; Levi could see the youngster at the edge of his vision deflate slowly, the enthusiasm gradually dissipating.

“So… what if they _are_ a fraud after all?” Eren said after about two minutes.

“How dare you,” the door opened outwards. A scruffy-looking man stood there, arms folded on his chest. “I’ll have you know—” his gaze shifted to Levi and he choked on his spit. Eren glanced that way as well only to catch a glimpse of Levi putting something back into his pocket.

“… Come in,” the man said grudgingly and stepped away, letting them enter. Levi walked in as though he in fact owned not only the building, but the town as well, not looking at the man once. Eren followed him sheepishly, muttering a ‘sorry’ as he passed by.

The door clicked shut and the man turned to face them. Levi had made himself comfortable on a chair which was near the desk that was there, and Eren, who didn’t know what to do, stood there with back hunched and eyes darting all over the place.

The man stared them down for a while. He’d managed to get Eren nervous; the boy soon began fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable with his current predicament, but Levi simply returned the stare with a deadpan only corpses should be capable of.

“So,” the man said, “Humanity’s Strongest and the embodiment of misery in one place? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“My name’s Levi, this is Eren. Stop with the fucking nicknames. I’m here to talk business.” Levi tossed the man the sack with the vampire’s head. “Your name is?”

“Gregory McKee, at your service,” Gregory said, apparently displeased with his current predicament. He looked in the bag and turned green in the face, immediately looking away. “What the—”

“A female vampire, type illusionist.” Levi crossed his legs, tilting his head to the side. “She had a nest in that ruin behind the town.”

“D-Did she?” Gregory suddenly seemed oddly shaken. Levi narrowed his eyes, but chose not to comment on it.

“It is your obligation to pay me for her, and to dispose of that thing.”

“Right.” Gregory finally left the spot at the door and walked over to his desk, glaring at the back of Levi’s head. Reluctantly, he reached into his drawer and pulled out a small pouch that clinked with coins. He laid it on the desk and pulled out a worn-out notebook; scribbling into it, he said, “I’m going to need your signature.”

Levi took the notebook and the pen from him and read aloud, “Compensation for eliminating an illusionist vampire, March 10th, twenty sovereigns. That checks out.” He signed it and eyed the page to see the names of people before him. “Oh, Erwin is in the area,” he murmured, his face unreadable. “Good to know.”

“Um…” Gregory began, “Is there anything else?”

“Indeed, there is. This kid,” Levi pointed at Eren, “has bite marks all over. Show him,” he ordered the boy.

“Ah? Eh…” Eren hesitated, but then he gingerly took his shirt off and turned his back to them. It was worse than Levi had originally thought; the area between Eren’s shoulder blades was reddish and slightly swollen, and rather than a series of bites it looked like a really bad rash. The amount of bites gradually lessened downwards, and there were only a few of them below Eren’s waistline.

Gregory didn’t say anything; Levi studied his expression, as he continued, “It seems like he’s been having regular dinner invitations from multiple hosts.”

Gregory looked down. Levi’s boot touched the floor with an audible tap; though it was not loud, it cut through the room in paralysing manner.

“You knew,” each word fell like a block of ice, “you bloody _knew_ , yet you chose to sit idly and twirl your thumbs as though it does not concern you?” Levi got up so abruptly both Eren and Gregory flinched. “Come, Eren. We’re leaving.”

“Y-Yessir,” Eren stuttered out, immediately realising that saying anything else in this situation could only result in someone’s pain. He pulled his shirt back over his head.

Levi hauled Eren towards the door; on the way, he glared at Gregory and hissed: “Return your badge. You’re not worthy of it, scum.”

“You’re one to talk,” Gregory snapped at him, “everyone knows you’ve been excommunicated!”

Levi kicked Eren out through the door. “Yeah, and even then, I’m more deserving of my badge than you are.” He slammed the door in Gregory’s face.

Eren looked at the closed door, then at Levi, who was swiftly walking away. “What…” he said, his throat clenched, “what now?”

“Hah?” Levi glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t care. But I can tell you that this shithole is not a good place to start your life as a vampire hunter.”

“But what do I do, then?” Eren said, his voice quivering. “If what you said is true, then—”

“Everything I’ve said between the moment we met and now was true. What exactly are you getting at?” Levi stopped in his stride.

“Am I… a marked target? How many vampires have been feeding on me?” Eren clutched his shirt.

“I’m not sure,” Levi said. “It’s not a matter of being an easy prey. To my knowledge, it’s unusual for vampires to keep their prey alive. If I’m correct, then – including last night’s illusionist – you’ve been a snack for three or four of them recently. Once we get to a mirror somewhere, do look at your back. Doesn’t it hurt at all?”

Eren’s lower lip trembled as he shook his head, and Levi stood close enough to see that. “Sheesh, fine. Come, we’re going to get you a change of clothes and a pair of shoes. If I’m to drag you along, you need to take care of your health.”

“You’ll… take me with you?” Eren brightened up, rushing up to the shorter man.

“No,” Levi shot down his excitement in mid-flight, “but I’ll take you somewhere you can learn from people. Who knows what would become of you if you stayed with that coward. What was his name again?”

“Gregory McKee,” Eren responded dejectedly.

“Remember that for me, will you?” Levi started walking again. “I’ll send someone to take away his badge later. Fucking selfish bastard. You were right under his nose, too. All he had to do was to reach out…” he trailed off.

“Sir?” Eren tilted his head.

“It’s nothing.” Levi glanced at Eren. “You look like you want to say something, though.”

“If… If I may,” the youngster murmured shyly, looking away, as he was walking by Levi’s side.

“Out with it,” Levi frowned slightly. It was one thing that Eren wouldn’t stop talking, but the fact the boy had the tendency to beat about the bush was getting on his nerves.

“He said you got… excommunicated?” Eren said, and ducked quickly when Levi’s arm swung to hit him.

“Oho,” Levi narrowed his eyes, “your reflexes are not bad. What were you saying? I didn’t quite get to hear you the first time.” His face spelled doom, but Eren paid it no mind.

Stepping away to be at a safer distance from Levi, he repeated, “Gregory said you got excommunicated.”

“He was right,” Levi growled, letting Eren have it.

“Why?”

“Because the head members are stuck-up assholes.” Levi’s tone became even more menacing, though his anger was no longer directed at Eren. “I was too good, and they felt threatened in their cushions, so as soon as an opportunity arrived… as soon as they found anything that could serve as a reason, they expelled me.” He scoffed disdainfully. “With excuses, apologies and an official two-rank raise. Pretentious fools.”

“What was the reason?” Eren enquired, and Levi shot him another glare.

“You’re too curious for your own good, brat. Let me tell you this, though – I prefer it this way. I’m on my own and their rules do not apply to me.” Levi sped up a little, and Eren had to catch up again. “The best part is, I don’t have to listen to their orders, but it’s their duty to aid me whenever I require them to.”

“I don’t get that,” Eren said, “why would that be a thing, if you’re no longer a member?”

“It’s a rule which has been put in place in order to lend a hand to those who have retired,” Levi explained. “People who are too old to fight, or people who have suffered injuries which forced them to settle down. Someone who doesn’t have a leg can hardly hunt monsters. It’s a good rule, especially since I can make use of it as well.”

“Isn’t that a little bad to do?” Eren mused, “To take advantage of such a thing.”

“If you’ve got a problem with that, you don’t have to come with me.” Levi began walking even faster.

“I’m sorry,” Eren apologised, “I’m a little too excited, sir. I simply wouldn’t have thought that I’d ever be in the company of someone so renowned. I’ve got so many questions…”

“So even you have heard of me?” Levi said, and Eren was taken aback by the amount of bitterness put into those words.

“I have,” he nodded, “and—”

“Spare me,” Levi’s tone was now exasperated. “Lies and glorified rumours. I’m nowhere near as great as they paint me.”

“But you’ve saved so many people,” Eren didn’t let Levi take away the winds from his fanboy sails, “You’ve killed so many vampires! Isn’t that worthy of recognition? Isn’t that admirable?”

“I’ve also led numerous apprentices to their deaths,” the hunter said hollowly. “I’ve seen countless comrades fall, be ripped apart by some bloodsucker. It’s not _fun_ , brat. There’s no glory, there’s no bravery, there’s just blood and filth, the stench of rotten meat and just as rotten garlic.” He didn’t turn to look at Eren. “It’s just a matter of luck at times, and luck is one promiscuous—”

“Is that why you don’t want to teach me?” Eren stopped him.

Levi hesitated briefly before answering, “Among other things, yes.”

“What other things?” Eren asked immediately.

Levi clicked his tongue. “As I’ve said before – you ask too much, brat. I suggest you reconsider your attitude towards me lest I leave you at the first corner.”

“If I want to know something, why shouldn’t I ask?”

“Because you might regret receiving the answers,” Levi replied coldly.

Finally, Eren stopped talking.

At least, for a while. He managed to keep quiet for about fifteen minutes. “Where are we going?” he asked then.

Levi reminded himself not to reprimand the kid too much, and answered, “On my way here, I saw a store where we could buy you something to wear. It’s nothing fancy, but I’m sure you’ll have no complaints.” As he said that, he stopped in front of a still-closed store and pointed at its door.

Eren paled in the face slightly. “I’ll… wait outside.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. How am I going to buy clothes for you, if you don’t come with?” Uncompromisingly, Levi dragged Eren to the door and hit the wood with his clenched fist several times.

There was shuffling, and an old man opened; he was still in his sleepwear, and there was a storm brewing in his demeanour. Without even looking who was standing there, he snapped, “What time do you think it is?! I was sleep—” his eyes fell on Eren. “The fuck are _you_ doing here? Scram, do you want me to lose customers?!”

“Oi, geezer,” Levi said, and the shopkeeper looked a little lower. “I’ll give you five sovereigns if you manage to dress him properly. Six, if you also give him a good pair of shoes.”

Eren inhaled sharply in shock. He’d never had money of his own, but he knew that what Levi said was much more than the original price. A sovereign was a golden coin, so the shopkeeper would make a fortune.

“How about seven,” the old man got greedy, perhaps under the assumption that Levi was some rich idiot who was feeling charitable and decided to take care of the unlucky child.

Levi frowned. “I don’t haggle. If you don’t want to sell me anything for the extremely generous price I’ve offered, I can go somewhere else.”

“No, no, wait,” the geezer held him back quickly, opening his door fully. “Please, do come in and have a look.”

After a while, Eren was dressed, Levi was somewhat satisfied and the shopkeeper six sovereigns richer. Once the old man learned that it was Levi’s intention to take Eren away from town, his service became much more compliant than in the beginning. Levi kept an eye on the clothes’ quality and simplicity – it would be pointless to wear anything fancy, especially so if it were to catch on twigs and tear on thorns.

The boy stood in front of the shop, and in awe, he was rubbing the fabric of his outer coat. “A… Are you sure it’s alright for me to have all this, sir?”

“Sure.” Levi eyed him from head to toe and nodded curtly. Now that he wasn’t wearing worn out rags, he seemed like a fine young man. The clothes couldn’t quite hide the fact he was thin and starved, almost transparent and weak, but that could be fixed in time. With food, shelter and warmth, and good training, Eren could become a promising hunter in the end. “You’ll pay me back after you earn some money.”

“Ah, but…” Eren seemed to have realised something, “do I have to pay for training?”

“Not if you get recruited on my recommendation,” Levi said, and though it might have been only Eren’s imagination, it seemed as though he smiled slightly. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going now?” Eren skipped up to him excitedly, brimming with enthusiasm.

Levi stepped back a bit, slightly uncomfortable. “We’re leaving town.”

“Already?” Eren said, “I thought…”

“What?”

“There were more vampires feeding from me, right?” Eren mumbled, looking down. “I thought we could… hunt them down?”

“You… do you think this is a game?” Levi folded his arms on his chest, the disapproval in his voice unmistakable. “I won’t chaperone a damsel like you during a hunt.”

Eren pursed his lips.

“If you want to say something, out with it,” Levi ordered him sourly.

“You could use me as bait,” Eren suggested. “At night, they might try to get to me, or call me to them…”

“Are you an idiot, or just pretending to be one?” Levi’s frown deepened. “Do you have a death wish? You were powerless against the illusionist whore, and she was among the weaker ones I’ve encountered. That’s the worst idea I have heard in a while.”

“But,” Eren objected, “you have no obligations toward me, sir. Not only that – I am indebted to you. With all due respect, I think you should let me be useful to you. You’ve been kind to me, sir, kinder than anyone, though we’ve just met. I need to repay you somehow.”

“Why are you so hell-bent on being sucked on?!” Levi snapped at him.

“I’m not,” Eren shook his head, “but, sir… you’ve said it yourself – they want me to live. It’s unlikely I’d get killed, right?”

Levi stared at him for a while. “… Damn you,” he said eventually. “Have it your way.”


	3. Enchanting Lure

Though the sun could not be seen, as the skies had been steely grey since morning, it could be felt that it had rolled behind the horizon.

“Would you stop that?” Levi glared at Eren.

“Stop what? I’m not doing anything.” Eren tilted his head in mild confusion.

“You’re so obviously excited it’s irritating,” Levi put down the knife he was sharpening. “Douse those fires. To make it easier for the both of us, you should be sleeping.”

They were hiding underneath a bridge, and the dusk had brought the temperature so low there were white clouds around their mouths when either of them spoke. Eren was sitting on a rock, clutching the fabric of his newly purchased coat. He was wide-eyed, and about as far from sleep as a priest from working in a brothel. Instead of attempting to rest, he could barely keep sitting, and save for the moments he was admiring his new clothes, he stared at Levi intently.

“How could I possibly fall asleep?” he objected, his gaze glued to Levi’s hands. “I’m watching you work. We’re about to hunt vampires.”

“First of all,” Levi replied coldly, “ _I’m_ about to hunt vampires. _You_ are going to be the bait, and don’t you dare get in my way. Second of all, a mind is undefended when asleep. It’s more likely they’ll drag you out there if you’re unconscious. You’re already getting in my way by refusing to sleep.”

“I’m so full of energy,” Eren said apologetically, “because I’m curious. I mean, ever since I was a child, I haven’t really seen a vampire up close—”

“Do I have to knock you out, then?” Levi asked darkly, interrupting him, “That could work, too.”

“I’ll—I’ll just try sleeping, sir.” Eren finally understood that Levi wasn’t going to be lenient towards him.

Levi huffed and gave a nod of wordless approval.

The boy lay on the ground with his back to Levi and closed his eyes. The hunter watched him for a few moments, then he said, “Hey, brat.”

“Yessir?” Eren sat up again, and got hit in the face with Levi’s overcoat.

“Use that as your pillow. It’ll be better than just sleeping on the ground.” Levi didn’t even look up this time, he just continued preparing his tools.

“Um… alright,” Eren replied hesitantly, looking at the muddy ground. He wasn’t sure if he should put it there. The clothes he’d received were his own, and if they got dirty, he’d just clean them once he got the chance, but since this belonged to someone else…

“Lie down and be quiet.” Levi saw his hesitation, but clearly had no patience for it.

“Yessir,” Eren murmured and folded the coat on the ground, curling up with his head on it. “It smells like you,” he said, not looking at Levi.

“If you’ve got any problems with that, you can give it back,” Levi growled.

The boy remained silent and Levi wondered why the kid would say something like that in the first place. He’d let him borrow the coat because the ground was cold and if the brat got sick, it would be impossible to take care of him. Additionally, he knew that the scent of another person can be comforting, and probably could help the kid fall asleep.

He eyed his tools and the corner of his mouth sank slightly. He wasn’t in the best shape these days, and it was not a problem of financial nature. Rather than that, it became increasingly difficult to buy weapons of at least reasonable quality, let alone anything above that. It was surprising, especially since the weapons he’d buy weren’t specialised. He had to alter them himself a great deal before he could use them himself – even more so when their quality had decreased and they were either weaker, or easier to break. An ordinary crossbow fired from five steps could easily pierce through a human’s flesh and kill them instantly. For a vampire, he needed both a stronger punch and a little extra spice.

Said spice was, of course, silver, and it posed another problem for the hunters. Though less expensive than gold and not as rare, it was near impossible to find at a larger quantity, and the quality mattered a great deal as well. Even the coins which were called ‘silvers’ had so much other metals in them that a vampire would barely flinch when touching them.

He’d plate his weapons’ iron blades and arrow tips with a thin layer of silver. To make them wholly out of the precious metal would be costly and inefficient – silver was too soft of a metal to be used for such purposes. Should he be forced to fight anyone or anything but vampires, he’d be royally screwed.

 “Boy?” he said, lowering his voice.

Eren didn’t respond. Levi leaned nearer and found that the boy’s breathing was calm and steady. It hadn’t been fifteen minutes, yet Eren was sleeping like a log – even though he was on pins and needles until moments ago.

Levi smirked bitterly. This was likely the work of a vampire’s power, but he’d kill for a good night’s sleep. Even last night, he had slept with one eye open – both his instincts and his thoughts wouldn’t let him give in to slumber entirely. The amount of sleep he had really gotten equalled to an afternoon nap.

Usually, he’d sleep during the day, since the vermin he hunted would crawl out at night, but this time,  he had to run some errands, and they were harder to handle with the brat by his side – especially since he had no excuse for some of them. Additionally, people were not exactly jumping for joy when they saw Eren, so it became quite the ordeal.

To cut down on the expenses and to be a less interesting target for the occasional bandits, he experimented with herbal poisons and even snake venom or rat poison. They weren’t as effective as silver, but they could easily damage a vampire enough for them to be slow, clumsy, and most importantly, perturbed by their sudden inability to move as they’d please. He had yet to dip his ordinary arrowheads in the hemlock tincture he had prepared last autumn. After the winter, he was almost out, so his one remaining saving grace were the various rat poisons he could buy.

The apothecary gave him a very odd look when he asked for such a large amount of arsenic.

He began packing up his tools quietly, hoping that there was enough time to do the remaining preparations.

Just when he had finished, Eren sat up.

“Brat?” Levi said, but already knew that Eren couldn’t hear him. The boy’s eyes were wide open, but unfocused, and as he got up to his feet, he was unsteady. It was similar to before, when Levi had met him in the castle, but there was something else, too.

Levi threw his bag on his back and got up quickly with the intention to follow. He left the overcoat behind, as he trailed about twenty to thirty steps behind the brat, carefully watching lest he’d lose sight of him.

Eren trotted back into town. Thanks to that, Levi could afford maintaining a greater distance, because the boy’s figure now couldn’t vanish in the shadows – at least, not until he suddenly turned away from the main street.

Levi cussed and quickened his pace. He had hoped to be able to step in as soon as he’d see the boy being attacked, but such a plan was now useless, if not laughable.

He only managed to turn at the corner to see Eren enter a solid-looking door at the end of the street. Levi frowned and stopped in the shadow, thinking. He had expected this to go down about the same way as last time – a crumbling, weathered-down building behind the town, a quick shot and then decapitation. Either the local lower-level vampires were slowly turning smarter and decided to blend in with the humans, or there was a Noble present.

Levi hoped it wasn’t the latter. As far as he knew, a Noble was near impossible to hide from, because those fuckers could read minds. Thus, they were hard to deal with, although they weren’t physically as able as the others; their muscle strength was even lesser than that of an Illusionist, which were – besides the Nobles – by far the weakest.

To complicate the matter further, the reach of a Noble’s mind differed greatly from one to another. Levi had met Nobles who could hear him thinking three streets away, and he had also met those who heard him only when he stood right behind them, and by then it was far too late to run. Unfortunately, there was no way of estimating the Noble’s power.

Levi pursed his lips and decided to see if he could sneak around and perhaps enter through the back door or a window. The front door was out of the question for obvious reasons – it had to be guarded, and Levi was no fool. There was no way he’d storm in though a door under supervision.

He walked closer and at the corner of the big house Eren had disappeared in, he slipped into an ally that served no other purpose than dumping garbage. It smelled horribly rotten, and Levi only wished to be inside as quickly as possible. He eyed the building; the alley was narrow enough for Levi to use the neighbouring building as support if he decided to climb the wall. There was no door on this side, and the windows, few in number, were closed.

Levi was no stranger to opening windows from the outside.

He secured his backpack on his stomach so that it wouldn’t let out a jingle, and then he grabbed firmly onto the corner, pressing his feet against the wall behind his back. Inch by inch, he scooted up to the first floor and carefully peeked inside. It was a kitchen, and there was a person sitting at the table with a bottle of some unspecified alcohol. They didn’t notice Levi, but said hunter deemed it unsafe and thus he climbed higher to reach the second floor.

There was but one window, and that led into a hallway. There were lamps burning, and Levi could see rather an expensive rug. Other than that, there was nothing noteworthy, and more importantly, not a soul to be seen.

The window opened outward. Levi realised this the moment he dug his fingers underneath the edge and attempted to move it, if only a little bit, to be able to undo the latch. He had to lean his back on the wall behind him, and hanging quite a good few feet above the ground without relying on his hands, he pulled out his knife to slip it into the dividing slit between the separate window frames.

The latch unhooked and the window opened silently. The inner part of the window opened inwards, and Levi’s trusty knife helped him again.

He considered leaving the window open, but then decided against. There was no running; if he were to be defeated, he stood no chance of escaping from a furious vampire. Better not to alert anyone who might reside in the building; with that in mind, Levi closed the window behind him.

It was surprisingly warm inside. Basing on that, Levi concluded that there had to be more humans than just the drunkard downstairs; the children of the night had no need for warmth, as cold brought them no harm. Instead, they _preferred_ it when it was colder rather than warmer, since most would lose focus when it was too warm or too bright.

_Odd_ , Levi pursed his lips as he crept down the hall. It wasn’t long before he heard voices from downstairs, and when he reached the stairwell, he could recognise one of the voices as Eren. Currently, the boy was explaining to someone how he got new clothes, as Levi understood from a few sentences. Eren’s words were jumbled and sometimes he’d have to start anew, having lost grasp of his thoughts.

Stupid brat. Had Levi considered the possibility of Eren prattling, he’d have tied Eren up to prevent him from leaving, and then tracked the vampires down on his own.

Briefly, he wondered how much had Eren already told, and exhaled in relief upon realising he hadn’t told Eren all that much, either. In fact, all Eren could possibly tell were the baseless rumours with not a smidge of truth in them. And since they were chatting, now would be a good time to attempt to take them down, since it provided him with an opportunity to catch them off-guard.

Swallowing hard, he made his way down the staircase, careful not to make them creak. He was glad that he hadn’t run into any of the human servants, because that would cause him an extra deal of trouble he was not eager to deal with.

A light from a fireplace cast long, dancing shadows on the wooden floor at the bottom of the stairwell. There was a curtain, partially veiling the view of the next room.

Levi hid behind it and peeked inside cautiously, making sure he wouldn’t step into the light.

A rather peaceful scene unfolded before his eyes. Eren stood sheepishly in the middle of the room, half-naked, facing three figures – likely vampires. One of them seemed almost feeble as he was relaxing in his chair; a young lad, seemingly not older than Eren himself. The second one, who stood behind said chair motionlessly, was about two to three times bigger than the first one, and without even thinking about it, Levi could easily classify this one a Brute. There was a third person present – a woman of distinguished features and simple clothing; she was sitting near the fireplace with a serious expression. It hadn’t slipped past Levi’s cautious eye that she bore a strong resemblance to the youth.

It seemed that Levi had arrived late – there were several fresh bites on Eren’s back, and even from a distance, Levi could see blood drip down Eren’s exposed skin. He clenched his teeth. These bastards weren’t leaving this house alive.

“The Duchess,” the youth said, as he crossed his legs, “is gone. I can no longer feel her presence. Is that his doing, too?”

Eren nodded weakly; from where Levi stood, he couldn’t see the boy’s face.

“Interesting,” the young vampire narrowed his eyes, a small smile curving his lips.

“Roland!” the woman snapped, her voice displeased and outraged. “You shouldn’t be happy about our own dying.” Though she was speaking to the vampire in the chair, Eren flinched as well, as though her words hit him painfully.

“You don’t understand, mother,” Roland looked her way. “The Duchess’s inner voice was one of the strongest in the land. Although she was of the lower caste, she was able to call this boy regularly all the way from town. Even so, the hunter was able to get to her unnoticed, and that’s concerning, to say the least.”

“But you know where he is, don’t you?” Roland’s mother said, her face showing a trace of urgency.

“Of course,” Roland said, and briefly glanced in the direction of the shadow Levi was hiding in. “You don’t have to worry, mother.”

Levi’s heart skipped a beat. This wasn’t good.


	4. Edge of the Blade

Ready to fire his crossbow at any moment, Levi was about to step out of the shade and attack. The vampire, however, continued the conversation, not alerting the other two vampires to Levi’s position.

“To us, he’s not a threat,” he assured the vampiress, “and even his sudden attachment to this boy isn’t something we should concern ourselves with.”

 _Attachment?!_ Levi snapped at Roland mentally, _Are you shitting me? I met him not two days ago!_

An all-knowing smirk spread over Roland’s face. “Come closer, Eren,” he said, “Let me have my share.”

Levi stood silently, wondering whether he should strike or not. Roland was aware of his every move, so to surprise them was out of the question. As Eren made his way to Roland’s chair and fell to his knees, turning his back to the vampire, Levi could finally see his face.

What he saw chilled him to the marrow.

Eren was fully conscious. Clearly, he was, but his own body wouldn’t listen to him; his horrified expression was a voiceless cry for help. His eyes were tearful and a little defiant, but helpless nonetheless. He sobbed when Roland leaned to him and licked the oozing blood off the freshest bite wound. There was the wet sound of the vampire kissing Eren’s skin, and Eren’s shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.

The boy yelped when the vampire finally bit down.

Levi saw the boy’s pleading expression and he understood how Eren felt. It was the kind of helplessness that bound his hands and legs, took over his voice and will and left him feeling as though he was dying alive. It was the kind of impuissance that hurt like salt in a fresh wound, the kind of frustration about one’s own inability to act that was beyond humiliating.

And the vampires were fully aware of this. Roland’s face was that of pure bliss as he drank from Eren’s back, savouring every drop.

He closed his eyes and allowed his instincts of a hunter to take over completely, giving free reign to his suppressed anger.

_Don’t think._

The bolt fired from his crossbow flew straight through the Brute’s head; the giant fell to the ground heavily like a cut-down tree.

 _Thud_.

Before the remaining vampires in the room could comprehend what was happening, Levi was already moving. Roland’s mother jumped to her feet. “ _Stop_!” she commanded, the blast of her voice shattering the window. Into the clinking sounds of glass shards hitting the ground, Levi cussed, feeling sudden lethargy in his limbs.

So she was a Shriek, then – a vampire with the power of the voice.

Once again, Levi was slightly amazed by how resistant he was to this. It did slow him down, his agility was gone, but he could still move far more easily than the vampiress could have expected. Thankfully, a Shriek wasn’t physically much stronger than an Illusionist. Alone, it wouldn’t be a threat, but it wasn’t on its own… Was it?

Levi glanced at Roland, surprised to see that though the young vampire had let go of Eren, who was now curled up by his feet, he did not seem to have the intention to get up and help. For a vampire to abandon its kindred against a human threat was unheard of.

Roland just sat there calmly, watching as the vampiress ran closer to attack the hunter. Levi saw that she, too, was a little too heavy on her feet, not as agile as she’d like to be. Even the Illusionist from the castle was quicker. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be a pain to deal with, though – Levi had already lost the advantage of surprise. He drew his knife, preparing for the impact.

She ran at him head-on, likely intending to tackle him to the ground while he was still semi-paralysed. Her heeled shoes made a clacking sound, then she leapt into the air.

Levi ducked just in time. He felt air breeze run through his hair as she flew above him. Before she hit the ground, he was already turning to stab. She barely parried the knife with her forearm, and screamed in pain when the silvered blade burned her skin, tearing through her sleeve. Eren whimpered in response to that sound of agony, curling up even more. From where Levi stood, he caught a glimpse of Roland resting his feet on the brat’s exposed back.

 _Fucker_ , he cussed internally, not backing down as he drew a second knife, swinging towards Roland’s mother’s face. She jumped back, her eyes now bloodshot. She was looking at Levi with seething hatred.

“Put your weapons down,” she attempted to make him bend to her will again.

Levi gripped the hilts of his knives tightly instead. He stood firm, hardened by what he had lived through, unlike those sheep she had dealt with up until this point. All she managed to do was to cause him difficulties; she wasn’t strong enough to break through the tough shell of his mind. His hands were shaking, since he was resisting the vampire’s voice, but he did not waver. Lunging forward, he attacked her once more. She dodged just barely, hitting the floor.

Roland was now behind his back, so Levi couldn’t see him, but he had already understood that the sick piece of shit wanted to watch the vampiress die. At least as long as Levi was busy with her, Roland was not going to attack.

The vampiress seemed to have realised the same, because her expression darkened when she glanced over Levi’s shoulder. Even so, she did not ask for aid – instead, she bared her teeth and growled, growing less distinguished and more inhuman by the second. Growling in frustration, she charged forward.

Levi counterattacked with his knife, hurting her shoulder. He was aiming for her throat, but her spell was still hindering his movements, so he missed.

The vampiress let out a scream of rage, clutching her wound. Eren whimpered again as that sound pierced his brain like burning ice.

She glanced at Roland again and hissed unintelligibly, then turned on her heel and was about to make a speedy escape.

Levi threw his knife, and was pleased to find that his keen eye hadn’t dulled over the years.

She hit the ground heavily as the entirety of Levi’s blade fit snugly inside her skull.

Levi eyed her motionless corpse, then finally turned to face Roland. There was not enough time to retrieve his weapon just yet, and he still had the other knife and a dagger at hand.

The vampire in the chair gave him a faint smile – he was calm, collected, disinterested in the female vampire’s untimely end, and because of all of the above, that smile was extremely infuriating.

“Why don’t you put your weapon away and sit down,” he said, gesturing towards the chair near the fireplace.

Levi cussed when his legs moved on their own. His body trotted to the chair and fell on it stiffly, and his hand sheathed his one remaining knife. No matter how hard he struggled against the influence of Roland’s words, his arms and legs were no longer under his command.

That fucker seemed to be much stronger than the vampiress.

Roland tilted his head, nudging Eren with his foot. “I must admit,” he spoke after several seconds, “I was almost worried that my power wouldn’t work on you. My parents hardly stood a chance.”

“ _Parents?_ ” Levi parroted. It was one thing for Roland to call the vampiress his mother, assuming she was the one who turned him, but why on Earth would he use this word now? Levi had never heard of vampires reproducing through sex. It was possible Roland was just trying to mess with Levi.

Roland did not address that matter, even though he surely knew about Levi’s confusion. Instead, his gaze fell on Eren, who was still curled up on the ground, his eyes darting between Levi and the only remaining vampire.

“What are your intentions?” Levi said, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer than necessary. Unlike Roland, he couldn’t read anybody’s mind, and so he had to talk with the bastard, even if it made him physically sick.

Roland poked Eren again and this time, Eren sat up, as though Roland had wordlessly commanded him. The vampire grabbed a fistful of Eren’s hair and yanked his head closer, then glanced at Levi, inhaling next to the boy’s ear. Eren, with eyes widened, attempted to struggle, but failed; the hand that was about to reach up to fight against Roland fell back to his side lifelessly.

“Seeing him so powerless makes me… tingle,” Roland narrowed his eyes and licked his lips, “but seeing someone as strong as you follow my every order, I can’t help getting hard. This is the fastest my heart’s beaten in years. Of course, I would never stoop so low as to do it with a human,” he ran his fingers through his hair, watching Levi intently. “But right at this moment, I am severely tempted.”

“I thought your hearts do not beat anymore?” Levi asked, even in this situation making sure to learn something that might come in handy. Up until this point, the only conversation he’d had with vampires were along the lines of “Die, vermin,” and “Don’t come back.” Once they were dead and he was done, there was little left of them to find out details about their physiology. He chose to ignore Roland’s remark, though it grossed him out.

“They do,” Roland let go of Eren, then got up and walked over to stand in front of Levi; he stared into the man’s eyes from such a short distance that Levi felt air on his lips when Roland spoke. “Slowly. Very, very slowly.”

The vampire’s hand rested on Levi’s throat – not squeezing, just lightly touching, feeling for pulse. “In comparison to yours, it’s as though my heart is dead.” He leaned closer to Levi and his lips brushed over the man’s skin. “What a pity you’re scentless. I would savour you to the last drop otherwise.”

Levi’s upper lip curled in an expression of disgust. “Gross.”

Roland chuckled. “I couldn’t agree more. After having such a delicious meal, the last thing I’d want to do is to ruin my appetite with the unpalatable slop coursing through your veins.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Levi wished him a good day in the worst way possible. “You swine have been sharing Eren like beggars would share a pipe, you think I’ll let you get away with this?”

“As I said,” Roland stepped back, a small smile once again gracing his lips. “Attachment. It’ll be your downfall one of these days, don’t you know?”

“Like I would let that happen,” Levi growled, attempting to bring himself to move. His limbs were stiff and strangely numb, not listening to him in the least. This was a first, and he was not very happy about it. Ordinarily, he would be able to overcome such a spell without major trouble.

“You say that, but you can’t even blink unless I let you.” Roland looked at Levi thoughtfully, then narrowed his eyes. “Fascinating,” he muttered after a while.

Levi wasn’t going to ask what fascinated him so, because he knew he was the cause. Focusing to an extent where sweat beads began appearing on his forehead, he managed to move his hand. Excruciatingly slowly, his fingers locked around the hilt of his knife and squeezed so hard his knuckles turned white.

Eren watched on, his eyes widened. He, who was unable to break free even of the female vampire’s spell, was shocked to see that even though Roland subdued Levi, the hunter struggled against the paralysis and succeeded.

“You’re a scary one,” Roland breathed out, his voice trembling with excitement. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“From the looks of it, you’d rather be my opponent in bed,” Levi said, not bothering to hide how appalled he was by that image.

“You’re not wrong,” Roland grabbed Levi’s lower jaw suddenly and pulled him close. “Too bad you’re human. We could have so much fun.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Levi replied, attempting to headbutt Roland. Unfortunately, his paralysed body didn’t allow any quick movement, so instead, he slowly leaned forward and touched Roland’s forehead with his own, glaring daggers into the vampire’s eyes.

Roland grinned; his tongue darted out and ran over Levi’s lips.

Levi turned pale. “Fuck off,” he snapped, visibly sickened.

Roland slowly stepped back, his expression enthusiastic. “I can’t kill you,” he said, throwing his hands into the air. “You’re too much fun.”

Eren exhaled audibly in relief. The plan had failed and at this point, he was fully blaming himself for that fact. It was he after all who pressed Levi to go track these vampires down and to take him along. Had they left the town, none of this would have happened.

Roland’s gaze shifted to Eren and he moved over to the boy to stroke Eren’s brown hair softly. He leaned closer and whispered something into Eren’s ear, and then he turned on his heel and walked out.

For a while silence lay in the room, interrupted only by ticking of the grandfather clock near the wall. Eventually, Levi forced his joints to work somehow, and so, with the speed of a tired and drunk snail, he turned towards Eren. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Eren nodded hesitantly; his body was not very responsive either. “And you, sir?”

“I’m fine,” Levi sighed exasperatedly. “I can’t move, though.” A barely audible strained sound seeped out through his clenched teeth as he fought against the invisible force holding his limbs down.

“What are we going to do?” Eren asked, his voice trembling ever so slightly.

“It’s going to fade eventually,” Levi assured him. “Or… whatever it really does. Once he’s far enough, I’m assuming.”

“How long do you think it might take?” Eren glanced towards his newly purchased clothes that were thrown over the armrest of a chair nearby.

“Not sure. Why, gotta piss?” Levi said mildly angrily, unable to shrug his shoulders like he wanted to. “You’re not cold, right? The fireplace is providing enough heat to keep you warm over there.”

“No, well… I’m worried, sir,” Eren replied nervously. “We don’t know if the servants are going to be a problem if they find us here.”

“If that bloodsucker is gone, they shouldn’t be under his influence,” Levi shook his head.

“With all due respect, that’s not what I meant, sir.” Eren’s eyes began inspecting the ground intently as though he suspected it might suddenly open up and swallow him whole. “The… The servants might be cooperating with Roland, sir.”

“Why would anyone—” Levi began, but then he hesitated, remembering Gregory McKee, the hunter from the previous night. Sure enough, if the servants were scared sheep without an ounce of pride left in them… He frowned. “You’re right. I did not realise that.”

“So, what do we do?” Eren insisted. “What if—”

“Shut up and let me think,” Levi stopped him right there.

If he were alone in this situation, he’d force himself to move through sheer power of will, even if his brain should break. However, he had no clue how much Eren was or wasn’t capable of doing that, and to try and haul him out in their current condition was out of the question. From the looks of it, the brat was still like a statue, barely able to move his head.

He _could_ hit Eren with something heavy, knock him out and then drag him out like that.

He narrowed his eyes, rejecting that idea as he watched Eren sitting there motionlessly. Not an option. He couldn’t trust his now so clumsy hands to leave Eren undamaged, and of course, that was undesirable. Regardless of what Roland said, that little annoying note about attachment, Levi simply wasn’t keen on hurting innocent human kids.

 _Attachment_ , he scoffed. _What a fucking joke. Even though all I want to do is to drop the brat off at the nearest office and be done with this nonsense._

At that moment, inexplicably, the feeling of being tightly encased in a block of metal abruptly ceased. Levi cussed as his muscles suddenly began aching. He did not realise he was straining them so much.

Eren, who hadn’t stopped trying to move the entire time, lost balance and fell face-first onto the floor, not even managing to try and stop the fall.

“Ow.” He sat up and rubbed his nose. Then, he quickly jumped to his feet again and leapt towards his clothes.

Levi watched him fumble around with his stuff for a few seconds, then he walked over to the dead vampiress and retrieved his weapon. “What a mess,” he said, eyeing her corpse.

“What do you mean?” Eren questioned.

“I’ll explain once we’re out of here,” Levi eyed the environment, making his way to the Brute on the ground, hoping to get his bolt back. Unfortunately, it was stuck firmly in the vampire’s skull with no chances of pulling it out. “Let’s go, quickly.”

“Yessir. And, um, thanks for coming to my rescue again.” Judging by his expression, Eren was ready to follow Levi to the deepest pits of Hell. His cheeks turned pinkish and he was a little too adorable for Levi’s liking.

The hunter was by no means equipped to handle this kind of clueless and genuine admiration.


	5. Unaware Elegy

“He wasn’t a Noble,” Levi murmured, not really talking to anyone other than himself. “What the fuck was he?!”

“A what?” Eren asked. He had been paying close attention to anything and everything the hunter did, so much that it was almost annoying.

“… Time for a lesson,” Levi sighed heavily.

The path they walked was slithering like a snake down the hillside in long, lazy serpentines, both above and below their position disappearing in a thick fog. The lights of the town could no longer be seen. The valley below wasn’t visible either, and Eren, who had never left the town on his own conscious decision, had no idea what could possibly await him in the distant mists.

“If you learn a bit ahead, it can only do you good, anyway.” Levi stopped briefly and glanced towards the sky. Vainly; the fog was impenetrable. “To my knowledge, there are five types of vampires. Weakest to strongest, we’ve got Illusionists, Shrieks, Brutes, Lurkers and Nobles. Of course, exceptions and variations do turn up here and there, but that’s very rare.”

Eren kept silent, only the sound of his footsteps half a step behind Levi was announcing his presence. The hunter glanced at the boy and saw Eren listening with great interest.

Sighing, Levi continued, “Back at the ruins, you have met an Illusionist. They’re annoying, but dumb as hell and can be dealt with easily, provided you know how to. They tend to be overly reliant on their stupid power, even though they can only focus properly at one target at a time. Hypnosis is the best they can do, and only when their target has got no training, it shows any effect.” Levi gave Eren a sideways glance. The boy, knowing that at this moment, Levi was talking about none other but him, looked away and did not meet the hunter’s eyes.

“That, at the house,” Levi did not address that matter, choosing to leave that discussion for later, “was a Shriek, a Brute and what I _assumed_ was a Noble, but turned out not to be.” There was a short thoughtful pause, then Levi said, “Tell me everything you remember from before I got there.”

Eren nodded; he was visibly uncomfortable about having to recall the recent events, but this seemed like an opportunity to help Levi and perhaps to become at least a little more likeable in the man’s eyes, and thus he supressed the feeling of dread that was creeping up his spine. “I came to when I was in the living room,” he said uneasily. “The woman told me to take my clothes off. They seemed to be amused by how afraid I was.”

“Were you scared?” Levi said, and for once, his words did not hold as much of an edge as Eren thought they would.

“I was worried that I got you into trouble, sir,” Eren replied honestly. “If anything should happen to me, not a dog would bark over my death, but if you died, who would replace you?”

Levi stopped abruptly and turned towards Eren.

_Slap._

“Do not _ever_ speak about yourself in that manner again,” he growled, his eyes gleaming with anger.

Eren, tearful eyes widened in shock, slowly raised his trembling hand to his reddening cheek. “Y-Yessir,” he whispered, his throat so tight he could barely say it. He didn’t really know what he said to deserve punishment.

Levi, seeing that Eren did not understand, made an exasperated expression as he began explaining. “Listen, brat. As a hunter, you must be aware of your worth. Oftentimes, you are the only one who will show you any appreciation. You save a village and the damned fools chase you out with pitchforks and torches, because you killed the butcher who they thought was protecting them from other butchers. Disregarding the fact that you and everything you do matters gets you killed. You don’t need to be nice, kind or understanding – but you need to want to survive. Otherwise, you are useless.”

Eren sniffled and rubbed his cheek more. “I-I understand, sir.”

“Do you really?” Levi said doubtfully. When Eren nodded vigorously, Levi nodded curtly and added, “Continue. What happened after?”

Eren wiped his eyes into his sleeve and cleared his throat. “They… Made me kneel. The woman—”

“Shriek,” Levi corrected him.

“—the Shriek drank first. I-I couldn’t bat an eyelash.” Eren shuddered at the memory. “Even though it had probably happened many times, this was the first time I actually _knew_ what was happening. It hurt a lot.” He cleared his throat again, not wanting to look weak. “When she was done, the… Brute?” he peeked at Levi and was relieved to see an approving nod, “he… picked me up and… it hurt so much I nearly wet myself, sir,” he muttered, embarrassed.

“The fact that you didn’t is a very good start,” Levi said, and at least attempted to sound reassuring, though he felt he was not very good at such things. He knew that regardless of what Eren could possibly think, there weren’t many people who would have full control over their bladder in such a situation.

Eren brightened up a little, sensing that Levi saw no reason to ridicule or reprimand him. “And then, well, Roland began questioning me.”

“What did he want to know?”

“… Where I got my new clothes… and then he asked who you are, sir.” Eren’s response was hesitant.

“And you told him everything you know, I assume,” Levi looked at Eren.

“I’m sorry,” Eren breathed out sheepishly. “You’ve been so good to me, yet I—”

“Save your breath, brat,” Levi said, shaking his head.

“But I—” Eren began, but was interrupted again.

“Even if you kept your mouth shut – not that you could – he’d just read your mind to get what he wanted. I’m guessing he got most of the information he now has from my own head rather than yours, anyway.” The hunter’s expression darkened as he said this.

“Really?”

“Well, you don’t know that much,” Levi shrugged his shoulders. “But, if it makes you feel any better,” he added, “what happened tonight was not in vain.”

“What do you mean?” Eren asked in great confusion. From his viewpoint, nothing that had transpired seemed good in any way. He got bitten and drunk from, they both got humiliated and Roland the vampire had escaped.

“Roland’s something new and we don’t know much,” Levi started, “but we know that he led you there with the intention of meeting me.”

“I’m sorry, sir – I, I… don’t understand,” Eren stammered.

“You were their target regardless,” Levi stopped in his stride and looked Eren in the eye, “but they kept you conscious this time, and Roland knew well that I was on the way. In fact, I’d say he was expecting me ever since we had slept at your place.”

“But at that point, we didn’t even know if—” Eren protested. It seemed a little too far-fetched to him.

“Haven’t you noticed? The fucker loves to gamble.” Levi cracked his knuckles and resumed walking, as he continued explaining, “Not only that, it’s possible that he could somewhat predict our every move. Your place wasn’t that far from his nest, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he heard either of us thinking. If you even briefly considered the possibility that you’d like us to go and hunt them, he probably knew.”

“… Oh.” Eren hung his head.

“I’m not saying it’s your _fault_ ,” Levi felt the need to clear that up. “It’s not necessarily bad, wanting and hoping to kill them. You just need to learn to be like that always instead of thinking that way impulsively. In a way, we’re like them, constantly thirsting for blood.”

Eren kept silent. For a while, there was just silence, and only the sound of their footsteps resounded as they continued down the gravel path.

“Plus,” Levi said after several moments, “there was something I need to get an expert’s opinion on.”

“An expert’s…” Eren repeated under his breath, then raised his voice a bit, “I thought you were an expert?”

“A former colleague of mine has made her job into a hobby,” Levi said, glad that at the moment, Eren could not see his face. “I hunt because I think it’s necessary. She _studies_ them.”

“Do you only hunt because it’s necessary, sir?” Eren said. The way the question was asked, Levi understood that the brat had no idea what _studying_ meant in this particular instance. Well, that was of course, as Eren hadn’t met that person yet, and there was nothing that could describe the bundle of crazy Levi’s… friend, for lack of better words, was.

“Should there be any other reason?” the hunter questioned.

“Don’t you find it satisfying at all?” Eren blurted out, clearly a little unhappy. It could have been disappointment; that birdbrain likely thought it exciting, despite all that had happened recently, and was convinced one way or another that to kill a vampire should be _fun_.

“In a way,” Levi replied curtly after a moment’s thought.

“In what way?” Eren did not let it slide.

Levi pursed his lips. “In the same way a baker is satisfied with fresh pastry,” he shrugged his shoulders, “a tailor with a fitting coat, or a poet with a pleasant verse. When a vampire dies by my hand, it’s a job well done.”

“Just that?” Now the disappointment was nearly tangible.

“It doesn’t have to be anything else.” Levi’s tone became dismissive. “It’s just work, brat. Lay your expectations nice and low, that’ll make everything easier for the both of us.”

Eren shut his mouth, apparently deciding not to speak for the time being. Levi, who would steal a glance at the brat from time to time, could see that he hardly delivered the answers Eren had hoped to hear from the hunter. He wanted to listen to grand stories of difficulties and struggles and victory, but Levi had never been one to speak of his deeds. In the first place, he had never thought himself a hero. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Especially since what he told the brat was only half of the whole truth. Certainly, he did consider it a job well done whenever he killed a vampire – but it was just as satisfying to see the bastards experience fear for the first and last time in their bloodsucker life. He wasn’t as interested in experimenting as Hange – the former colleague he had mentioned earlier – was, and rather than taking long hours to find out what would bring which kind of result, he preferred to get it over with. A dead vampire was a good vampire. Still, when hunting, he’d enjoy it in a sense, and he hated that he understood how his enemies felt during such times.

Hunting brought _thrill_.

He had realised this early on, and his job had never been the same since. Even though he wouldn’t tell anyone, even though this was another of the reasons why he would rather always hunt alone, he found it extremely satisfying to bring death to those who brought fate worse than that. It wasn’t mercy, far from it, but he had made this kind of justice his creed. It felt good to _do_ good.

He had never been a good _person_ , but he was a good _hunter_ , and stood by the side of those whom he chose to help.

To _be_ good? God forbid.

To _do_ good? Hell yes.

Plus, he _was_ expecting at least some sort of payment for his services. Certainly, during times when he’d get chased out of the city by its “sheep” after killing the local “shepherd”, he would rather avoid direct contact with them lest he end up with a pitchfork suddenly growing out his kidney. Still, there were occasions when he returned at night and stole from them.

Not much, just what he needed.

Usually.

These were the things he thought Eren should preferably learn _last_. Where Levi stood, he saw his own stories full of darkness, and lost limbs, and stealing, and lies, and grief, and blood-soaked dirt. Eren, a bright young lad with his future still full of possibilities… he required light, like a young, growing ash tree.

Levi saw purity in Eren, purity which he had long lost, if he had ever had any at all. Everything about Eren was so pristine, so beautiful, so fragile, and he feared it was in fact his fault that this sweet, gentle and untainted naiveté was going to be destroyed because they had met. Perhaps it would have been better if Eren had died back at the castle, never even knowing he would turn the wrong direction on the path of life…

Levi hesitated in his stride.

Too much, too far.

He shouldn’t have let his thoughts reach this point.

However horrible the future might become, it was ultimately Eren’s decision to follow the hunter. Just as well it was his wish and none other’s that he had asked to be taught the ways of vampire hunters. By requesting this, he was also asking for trouble, but… Eren knew that.

And though Levi had warned him, and not once, the foolhardy brat wouldn’t listen.

Therefore, everything that would follow, any failure, any ill fate was going to be Eren’s own fault.

Surely, he was going to die early on. There was no way a brat this reckless would survive a month on his own.

How obvious.

And yet, what a waste of a charming young life.

How could Levi _not_ blame himself, if he had allowed Eren to tag along?

He couldn’t not have let Eren come with. There was something odd about the boy, the way he looked at Levi, the way he spoke. Back when Eren attempted to convince Levi to teach him, the hunter had refused before the brat could even ask, because if Eren really _did_ ask, Levi would have a much harder time saying no.

 _Damn fucker was right about attachment, after all,_ he thought, frowning.

Remembering Roland made him stop completely, and Eren, who was not expecting it, bumped into him.

“I’m sorry,” the boy said immediately and backed away.

Levi looked at him thoughtfully.

“Is… something the matter, sir?” Eren muttered, and added in an even quieter voice, “You’ve been looking at me for some time now.”

Levi was about to answer, but then a sound caught his attention and he tilted his head, listening. “Shh.”

The brat did the same. “I think it’s just the wind, sir,” he whispered in the end.

Levi glanced at the boy again, this time with an unmistakable glint of enjoyment in his eye. “Sounds like it,” he replied in voice just as low, “but do you _feel_ any?”


	6. Play in the Storm

Holding his breath, Eren followed in Levi’s footsteps, afraid to make a sound. The hunter in front of him changed instantly – the moment he had sensed enemies, he became a predator on the prowl. At this moment, he _was_ the danger, far from the prey Eren felt himself to be.

The distant sounds which had initially resembled the howling of the wind became much clearer as they were getting nearer; Levi’s instincts had yet again proven to be on point. Instead of wind, a vampire was howling, curled up on the ground; his type was not clear. He could have been a Noble, a Lurker or an Illusionist. Not much of him could be seen, and curled up as he was, he seemed very small. The only indication that this was a he was his voice, strained in pain.

Two other vampires were fighting near him, and they seemed both in equally bad shape. One of them, a Brute, was hulking about, covered in numerous wounds, and there was a much smaller figure on his back, hissing and holding on for dear life – or it seemed that way at first, but then it turned out that it was in fact still fighting, and rather than just not letting go, it was trying to attack as well.

“Traitor!” the Brute bellowed, swinging his arm to hit the attacker, but missed.

Levi, who was crouched among the rocks, stared in fascination.

First of all, as the Shriek from before had mentioned, a vampire would under normal circumstances never betray its kin. If Levi had correctly understood what was going on right now, then the injured one was on the Brute’s side, and they were – in one way or another – deceived by that small thing on the Brute’s back.

Second of all, the attacker was using a weapon which had caused the other vampires pain. That meant at least two things. One, the attacker had had the intention to hurt vampires, perhaps even hunt them. That implied he possibly bore a grudge against them, or was possibly money-driven. Two, they had somehow managed to use that weapon despite being a vampire themselves. That meant brains, and not just the ‘predator’ kind. This sort of intelligence was vicious and cruel.

Third of all. Vampires. Fighting. Against one another. Even when betrayed, the bastards would usually have a very hard time overcoming their instincts and attacking their own kind. The Shriek was a perfect example; even though Roland had shown himself to be a treacherous snake, she still did not say a word of blame, and even attempted to protect him at first. Levi wouldn’t have expected her to do anything else, as it was entirely against their nature.

Thus, the scene before them was extremely puzzling. _What could the small one possibly have done to the other two? Perhaps it attacked them first?_ Levi wondered. That was likely, but what could rouse such spite in it? That, Levi had difficulties figuring out.

He heard Eren beside him breathing irregularly. The brat was thrilled, and when Levi glanced to his left to eye the kid, he saw a pair of shining eyes, watching the fight intently, absorbing every detail, brimming with excitement. “Stupid brat,” he hissed under his breath.

Suddenly, the small dark figure on the Brute’s back let out a shrill cry.

Levi managed to cover Eren’s mouth in the nick of time, though his own head was throbbing as though it was about to split. A nearby murder of crows was startled into flight. The Brute lost all sense of direction, and instead of fighting, he attempted to cover his ears instinctively.

Though Levi felt something wet and warm dribbling over his fingers, he couldn’t look away, as the small vampire, who seemed to be a Shriek, pulled out a dagger and drove it _through_ the thick skull of his enemy with the nastiest sound Levi had heard in quite the while.

It proceeded to jump off the now dead Brute’s body mid-fall, and landed next to the injured vampire on the ground, who was watching in horror and was so shocked that he forgot to keep screaming. “H-How _could_ you?!” he snapped at the short silhouette looming over him.

There was only a quiet chuckle – and even though Levi and Eren were so far that they shouldn’t have heard it, they still did. Levi curled his upper lip. “Revolting,” he murmured.

The victorious vampire leaned lower and grabbed a fistful of his enemy’s hair, yanking his head backwards. The plea for mercy turned into incoherent gargling sounds, as the dagger created a firm, loving connection between the defeated vampire’s lower jaw and his brain.

The last vampire standing freed his weapon from the corpse’s head, and wiped it into the fabric of his cloak. Then, it turned its head, entirely wrapped in cloth, towards Levi and Eren.

“Fuck,” Levi cussed just when the vampire vanished out of sight as though the fog had engulfed it.

“Where’s he gone?” Eren asked, his voice muffled as he spoke through Levi’s fingers. Levi pulled them away and looked at them; his hand was covered in blood. The vampire’s scream must have caused Eren’s nose to bleed.

“Gross,” he said.

Then, he felt the hair at the back of his neck rise. Quickly, he ducked, kicking Eren out of the way. The boy yelped in surprise and pain, but Levi had no time for that. The vampire reappeared in the air, landing right where Eren was crouching moments prior. It hissed, attacking Levi immediately, but the hunter had his dagger already drawn. He slashed at the vampire’s face as it came close.

The blade ripped off some of the fabric tightly wrapped around the vampire’s face and revealed unhealthily pale skin. There was only a small scratch on it, but the thin cut line quickly turned charred black and the vampire backed away, covering its face. “Huntersss,” it spat out hatefully and took several steps to the left, as it began circling Levi. “Ssstrange onesss.”

Even by its voice, Levi couldn’t tell its gender – but he didn’t really care. Instead of wondering about that, he took a firmer stance, ready to strike whenever. The fact that this bastard took down two vampires at once wasn’t reassuring in the least, but Levi was like a mountain lake, calm and cold.

That is, only until he remembered.

This time, he wasn’t on his own.

As though it heard that thought, the vampire turned on its heel and cast its eyes on Eren, who’d only now managed to scramble up to his feet.

“No you don’t,” Levi barked and threw the dagger he was currently clutching.

It made a hole in the vampire’s cloak, but for some reason, the vampire froze at that moment and glanced at Levi again. At that instant, the hunter leapt into the air.

None of the three had expected Levi to make that jump. Even so, Levi’s body tackled the vampire to the ground. Tangled together, they rolled downhill a few yards, then Levi ended up on top of the vampire.

Something had snapped in his head the moment he saw the vampire planning on attacking Eren. In the very back of his brain he was fully aware that what he was doing at the moment was borderline insane, and in astonishment he watched his own hands grab the vampire’s head and bash it against the ground, over and over. At that moment, nothing else mattered.

The vampire struggled and got out of Levi’s grip eventually, throwing the hunter off of itself. Levi rolled over and jumped to his feet, reaching for a weapon as he was already charging again.

Faced with such rage, the vampire backed away quickly, and as soon as it was out of reach, it disappeared again.

Levi, deprived of target, stopped, breathing heavily. He looked back at Eren, who stood there dumbstruck, and the burning seas of anger had been instantly calmed.

“A-Are you alright, sir?” Eren said, and as he was walking towards Levi, he held up his hand with Levi’s dagger he had picked up.

“I’m fine,” Levi said curtly. “You?” he asked, taking the dagger back.

“I’m okay, sir. A few scrapes, but nothing major. My nose isn’t bleeding anymore, either.”

“Good,” Levi nodded. He knew that he had kicked Eren rather hard back there, and was a bit worried that he had broken some of his ribs. Thankfully, though, the brat seemed to have strong bones, so in the worst case there was going to be a bruise. Surely it hurt, but probably less than Levi had anticipated.

“Should we follow them, sir?” Eren wondered.

“It. Not them. A vampire’s worse than an animal,” Levi growled. “And how in the flying fuck would you want to follow it? Unless you’ve got any idea where it went.”

Eren was quiet for several heartbeats. “I think…” he said slowly, “I think… that way.” He pointed into the fog.

Levi narrowed his eyes. “How do you figure?”

“Well…” Eren looked away. “A… gut feeling, I suppose?”

Levi looked in that direction. “Well, whatever. It’s sort of the way we’d been going, anyway,” he shrugged his shoulders unenthusiastically. “But since you’re so into it, lead the way.”

“Y-Yessir!” Eren pulled a determined face and turned to walk the direction he had chosen.

Levi followed slowly, his brow furrowed.

Were the odd ones on sale somewhere today that he met two within the past twenty-four hours?

This one should have been a Shriek, but to blend in with its surroundings was a Lurker trait. Levi saw that bastard do it twice, so it surely couldn’t have been just the fog playing tricks on him or anything along those lines.

Not to mention, unless a vampire was a Noble, its voice shouldn’t have any effect on other vampires. According to Hange and her research, there were the very rare occasions where a Shriek would command an Illusionist, but it was unclear whether the Illusionist was obeying those commands because it chose to or not. Generally speaking, the Brute shouldn’t have been affected, especially since a Brute was ranking above a Shriek in terms of power.

He shuddered, remembering his outburst.

Truthfully, he did not completely understand it either, but the moment he saw that Eren was in danger, his vision went blood-red. He was ready to kill that vampire barehanded, and though ordinarily the vampire should have been able to free itself, it had trouble struggling against the power of white rage which had overtaken Levi.

 _How did it even know where we were hiding?_ he suddenly realised. There was no wind, so even though Eren got a nosebleed, the scent of blood shouldn’t have alarmed the enemy. At least, not so quickly. And it wasn’t a Noble, so it shouldn’t have heard their thoughts.

He lifted his hand up to his face. It was still covered in Eren’s blood; pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket, he wiped his fingers into it, then tossed it away. There was no point in keeping it – should the smell of blood lure predators closer, it would be troublesome.

For a few moments, he watched the brat make his way forward, and he frowned, sighing unhappily.

The damn kid was _skipping_. He wasn’t cautious in the least, and he was so excited and nervous to be in the lead that he forgot to pay attention to what was important.

Levi sighed and leaned down to pick up something Eren had overlooked.

It was a piece of cloth, the same one the odd vampire had wrapped around his head. Looking at it, Levi remembered Roland for some reason. That piece of shit had whispered something into Eren’s ear before he made his speedy goodbye. Eren never elaborated on that – then again, Levi hadn’t asked yet.

“Oi, brat,” he said, his voice not too loud.

Eren nearly tripped over his own foot, but somehow regained balance and turned to face the hunter. “Yessir?”

“Back in the house, Roland,” Levi spat that name out like an insult, “told you something so that I wouldn’t hear it. What was it?”

“Um… I didn’t understand what he meant, sir,” Eren replied hesitantly.

“That doesn’t matter,” Levi urged Eren to continue. “What did he tell you?”

“Yessir! He told me, uhm… to guard my arse, sir, if you’ll pardon the word, sir. And that he’s looking forward to meeting us again.”

A vein popped up on Levi’s forehead. Damn bloodsucker didn’t know to keep his mouth shut. It was good that Eren had no idea what Roland had meant, his innocence and inexperience truly be praised. To be saved by Eren’s naiveté brought a sense of relief he hadn’t expected to experience.

 Although, why should he care if this snot-nosed brat began to be cautious around him?

Shaking his head, he clicked his tongue. He cared after all. At the very least, he’d hate to destroy the image Eren had of him. For once, he had encountered someone who hadn’t heard the rumours, someone who had no idea about the filth permanently sticking to his heels. No matter how much he washed, some things would never go away… but Eren, Eren had no idea about any of that. Wouldn’t it be a shame to kill this kid’s dreams?

“Sir!” Eren suddenly called, his voice excited. “There’s a path here!”

“Good job,” Levi replied, “now pipe down. Do you want your enemies to hear you from miles away?”

“No, sir. I’m sorry, sir.” Eren looked down and waited for Levi to come closer.

“I don’t know how you did it,” the hunter said upon reaching him, “but it seems that we’re on the right path.”

“Really?” Eren beamed a smile.

 _So blinding_ , Levi thought as he responded affirmatively, “Look what I found.” He held up the rag. “It’s what that bastard’s face was wrapped in.”

“Does that mean we’re close?”

“Possibly,” Levi said. “It at least means we’re _getting_ closer. So, which way should we go next?”

“I, um…” Eren paused nervously, then pointed downhill. “That way…?”

Levi narrowed his eyes, but agreed wordlessly and began following the path Eren had discovered. It was odd how Eren had chosen a direction and it turned out to be the correct one. He couldn’t be completely certain about that just yet, but so far they seemed to be nearing their prey and Eren showed little to no hesitation in deciding which way they should go. At this moment, he was walking by Levi’s side – no, about half a step ahead, eyes directed into the impenetrable layers of greyness around them.

His so-said _gut feeling_ seemed to be a little too on point.

The path beneath their feet appeared to be long forgotten, or perhaps the doing of wild animals rather than humans. It was of uneven width, and at times, it would disappear completely, but it was unmistakably still going in one direction.

It took them a good while of silent walking, but eventually, the silhouette of a house emerged from the fog. There were pine trees around it, a fence and an empty yard with a well. Judging by the surroundings, Levi determined that it used to be a farm at some point, but at the moment it was decrepit and desolate.

Eren turned towards Levi and opened his mouth to ask something, but Levi raised his hand quickly to stop him.

“Shh. Hear that?” the hunter whispered.

Eren stood still for several heartbeats. “Water?” he said in the end.

Levi shook his head. “Not that.” True enough, there was the nearly inaudible sound of water, a river, perhaps, in the distance – however, Levi heard a sound he wasn’t too happy about. Pursing his lips, he thought deeply. Eventually, he came closer to Eren and forced his crossbow along with several bolts into Eren’s palm. “Take this for now,” he said under his breath. “If anything attacks you, aim for vulnerable spots. Try not to hit me.”

“I don’t—” Eren began, but was silenced by Levi’s hand.

“Wait here. Yell for me if there’s any danger.”

“I—” Eren was ready to protest and attempted to speak through Levi’s fingers.

“I’m telling you to be my lookout, moron,” Levi hissed. “Don’t let a twig move unnoticed.”

Eren’s eyes widened and he nodded quickly.

Having let go of Eren, Levi made his way towards the front door of the house, already not looking forward to anything he was expecting to find inside. The door opened with a barely audible creak, and caused small swirls of dust dance on the floor. This place seemed abandoned, untouched for years, but Levi’s instincts were screaming for red alert.

He stepped in, the soles of his boots disturbing the even layer of dust and dirt on the floor. Inhaling deeply, he clenched his teeth and his frown deepened. There was a stench in the air, one which Levi had smelled so many times he was sick of it.

The stench of fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A heads up.  
> Starting with the next chapter, this is where the nasty stuff begins. Not pretty. This is your last warning.


	7. Lost and Found

The hallway before him seemed ominous, scantily clad in the few rays of light coming from outside through the open door behind his back. Levi glanced the way he had come from in order to make sure that the brat was still where he had left him. Upon seeing Eren stand there, he exhaled in relief inaudibly; he had an uncomfortable feeling that he shouldn’t let Eren see whatever was inside this house.

Clenching his teeth, he took another step to finally tread upon the dusty floor hidden in the shadows. The floorboards beneath his feet creaked, as though the house itself yawned, awakening from an unimaginably long slumber. Levi knew better than to believe that, however. This house undeniably had its residents, and regardless of how uninhabited it appeared, there was surely something lurking in the darkness, waiting for him to lower his guard.

Unfortunately for that vampiric piece of shit, Levi was no fool. He  _ knew _ what he had heard, and the moment he had stepped inside and took his first breath, he understood far too well there was something fishy. That is to say, he smelled a waft of the unmistakable odour of human fear. 

Sweat. 

Blood. 

Shit and urine. 

All of that together, though weak, hit him right in his nose and called forth all the bitterness and hatred he felt for these detestable creatures. There had to be survivors for sure, unless the vampire had killed them upon Levi’s arrival. If that turned out to be the case, then Levi was going to slice that bastard alive and feed him his own toes. 

His eyes got gradually accustomed to the shadows. Now, he could see the dust particles dancing in the air wherever they touched the scarce light, floating as though nothing was wrong. Clutching his dagger’s hilt, he moved forward cautiously, leaving footprints in the false signs of this farm being abandoned. 

He reached the end of the corridor, deliberately ignoring the several doors he met on his way. Neither of them was of interest – the stench got stronger and stronger with each step closer towards a hatch which was by the wall.

Levi leaned down to examine it.

It was closed, but the latch was undone. However, the dust layer seemed undisturbed here as well. That could only mean that he vampire wasn’t downstairs – should it have gone there, it wouldn’t have any way of opening and closing the hatch again without leaving traces.

Unless, of course, there was another way in Levi didn’t know of. 

To go back and check would be too risky. A sudden retreat could result in the vampire doing something unexpected, and Levi wasn’t going to chance that. One way or another, it could endanger Eren, and Levi was determined to avoid that at all costs. The inexperienced brat would die, no question.

Since the vampire clearly wanted him to go down into the cellar, Levi decided to play along for a bit, and opened the hatch carefully. 

A terrified whimper echoed from the darkness at his feet; disgusted, Levi held his breath briefly, wishing he could just stop breathing altogether. The smell coming from the cellar left much to be desired. Now that he stood right at its source, he  _ really _ did not want to take another step.

There was no ladder or steps, though, and to jump into an unknown hole in the ground would be suicidal. Having no torch or a lantern with him, Levi pursed his lips, thinking briefly. Then, he decided to light a handkerchief with a match and drop it directly down the hatch. It was just as stupid, and he could set something on fire, but he’d rather do that than break a bone in the darkness.

The handkerchief fell on the bottom and its light immediately disappeared; there were more sounds now, some frightened, some perhaps hopeful. Judging from the way it fell, Levi figured it was a hair less than ten feet. However, there was no way to determine the depth of the wetness that doused the burning piece of cloth. It could have been only a palm’s width, or it was enough to drown in – Levi didn’t know.

“Screw that,” he murmured and turned towards the exit to grab a rock, hoping that he wasn’t going to have to face any undesirable consequences. As he walked back down the hallway, a bit of dust trickled down at the edge of his vision. He chose to ignore that for now – if the vampire could read his mind perchance, then it must have known that Levi was aware of its presence as well as the reason why he decided to turn back. If it couldn’t read his mind, then to attack Levi would at this moment be still reckless, and judging from the fight earlier, this beast was not likely to do anything too stupid.

Quickly returning to the hatch, he clutched the stone in his hand strongly. No matter what the vampire’s goal was, it couldn’t be good, and he needed to get this over with as quickly as possible. Falling on one knee next to the square of darkness in the floor, he held out his hand and let go of the stone.

There was a wet thud.

Not so deep then.

Sighing bitterly, he jumped down quickly.

Judging by the way his feet sunk into the whatever that was on the floor, he was really glad he had boots.

The blackness which had engulfed him was filled with a horrendous stench. Even though he had seen the worst of the worst many times, his eyes began to water nonetheless and he wished desperately to have at least a little less keen nose. It was clouding his senses, making it harder to focus.

Suppressing the urge to vomit, he lit another match, and narrowing his eyes so that he wouldn’t be blinded by the flame, he looked around.

What he saw made him shudder internally.

The cellar wasn’t very big, a part of it was filled with mess and furniture and crates, perhaps to wall off another entrance. Were that the case, then looking for it would have been pointless after all.

There was a number of meat hooks on chains hanging from the ceiling, much like those a butcher would use for his daily bread. 

On them, several human bodies. Four, to be exact. 

Levi stepped closer to inspect them. His match burned out; he lit another one and held it up high above his head.

All of them were gagged, two of them unconscious. As Levi looked around more carefully, he noticed something on the ground submerged in the disgusting concoction. 

Definitely a body, and definitely no longer useful to the vampire. It had begun rotting already, and only thickened the nauseous odour filling the room.

He looked up at the people on the hooks again. They were in a sorry state, covered in their own filth and likely starved and dehydrated. Their thinned bodies were covered in bloody rags, and wherever their skin was showing, bitemarks could be seen, sown with reckless abandon wherever possible. Some of their wounds were likely inflamed, and their bare feet were an unhealthy colour even under all the grime they were covered in. Levi noticed that one of the unconscious men had his legs utterly broken. His shins were swollen and their bones at an angle they definitely shouldn’t be.

One of the two conscious ones was a woman who, upon Levi’s arrival, stopped making sounds and only stared at him with eyes widened in fear. The other one was a man, and he wouldn’t stop groaning, though it was barely audible. He wasn’t looking at Levi and it was possible he was unaware of the hunter’s presence.

Another match died out. Levi chose to use three of them at once to get more light.

In that brief moment of brightness, he could finally see what he couldn’t before in the shadows under the ceiling.

The vampire hung them up by their shoulder, driving the hooks right through their flesh. They were clearly in immense pain, and the longer it dragged on, the worse it must have been. The woman seemed to be the newest addition to this grim collection, seeing as she was less skinny than the three remaining people. Though she was silent, she was shivering madly and her eyes spoke of the horrid things she’d faced.

Levi hesitated.

Obviously, he needed to save these people. Just as obviously, he couldn’t let the innocent Eren see this room. However, any second could be vital for the victims, and the vampire was still around, waiting to strike. If he had anyone but Eren with him, they’d divide their tasks, but Eren was a wet-behind-the-ears brat and could hardly handle either.

His matches burned out.

Gritting his teeth, he blindly walked over to the pile of furniture and picked out a chair he had remembered, then he dragged it towards the hatch in order to climb back up. As he was passing by the woman, he muttered, “I’ll be back,” even though he couldn’t be sure about it. He was hoping the vampire wouldn’t want to damage its food too much, and in the narrow space of what remained of the cellar, there was no way of making sure that the victims would be unharmed irreparably. Plus, and that was perhaps a more valid point, the vampire was having fun with its opponents, defeating them and tormenting them. If that mattered at all, then the vampire was more likely to savour fighting Levi rather than ambushing him.

He climbed back into the corridor.

“Ssssssssmart one,” the vampire hissed. It was standing in the middle of the hallway, looking at Levi. “We fight. You losssssse. You die. Sssssslowly. Your boy diesssssss. With you. In the ssscellar.”

Levi didn’t reply; there was no point in talking to this bitch.

Standing against his opponent, he noticed with a small hint of satisfaction that the vampire was a bit shorter. That, however, hardly made the vampire any less dangerous.

“So you can hear my thoughts,” he stated, as he eyed the enemy along with its surroundings. In this narrow space, fighting was going to be difficult, but at least the vampire had nowhere to hide. “Why is that?” 

“Sssssuch ssssecretsss sssshouldn’t be told to huntersssss,” the vampire replied. Levi caught himself wondering if vampires salivated; if they did, then this hellspawn’s rag mask was now getting all gross, soaked in spit. “Ssssoon it’ll be none of your busssssinessss, anyway,” it continued, as it pulled out its dagger.

Levi narrowed his eyes a little. It was strange. Ordinarily, a vampire wouldn’t fight using such weapons. After all, the claws and fangs their transformation had gifted them with were sharper than any dagger. They had abilities humans could only dream of having, and overall were superior to humans when it came to combat readiness. 

This one, however, was wearing gloves, and even when fighting Levi, it wouldn’t remove the filthy bandages it had wrapped around its head. The gloves made sense if the dagger was made of silver, and that seemed to be the case, considering the effect it had had on the betrayed vampires from earlier.

Taking a cat-like step, silent and lighter than a feather, Levi drew his own weapon as well. “Why do you attack your own?” he asked further, hoping to get at least some answers.

“Hate them,” the vampire retorted.

“Obviously, but why?” 

Instead of replying, the vampire hissed incoherently and lunged forward. Levi dodged the dagger aimed right at his face by a mere hair. Before the vampire could avoid it, Levi stepped even closer in, wanting to drive his dagger in between the vampire’s ribs and to end it quickly.

The blade of his dagger slipped on some hard surface underneath the vampire’s ragged clothes. Clearly, attacking the torso was out of the question. Levi ducked quickly to avoid another swing. Using it to his advantage, he then jumped upwards, aiming for the vampire's bandaged face. There was no point in attacking non-vital points. 

The vampire stumbled backwards, but regained its footing almost immediately, and before Levi caught balance, it was already going for his throat. 

Levi parried the vampire's dagger only by chance; his other hand, now also armed, shot forward to at least attempt an attack. Vainly. The vampire took a small step backwards – and Levi missed completely. Though that didn't stop him and he naturally went into a follow-up attack, he saw very clearly that the vampire had the advantage when it came to agility. Levi couldn't even ruffle its feathers. 

The vampire let out a noise which resembled a chuckle, and attempted to do the same trick of merging with the shadows to make itself disappear. Here, though, there was no fog to aid it, and Levi’s trained eye was not the easiest to fool. The enemy blurred, but it was easy for Levi to follow that bastard with his gaze; when it attempted to jump behind him, Levi turned on his heel just as swiftly and immediately countered another swipe coming from the left. 

Seeing that its cloaking ability wasn’t going to be of much use, the vampire stopped fooling around with that and instead it took a narrow stance, facing Levi. 

For several heartbeats, nothing moved. They stared each other down, not wanting to be the first to attack. 

Eventually, it was the vampire who ran out of patience. Levi’s eyes saw the enemy jump a fraction of a second too late; he couldn’t react fast enough. 

The vampire tackled him onto the ground.

“How did you ssssssmash my head againsssssst the rocksssss before,” the vampire hissed, its voice distinctly disappointed. “Sssshould I maybe go teassssse the boy outssssside to make you get sssssssserious? You ssssssseem to care for him an awful lot.” 

“Shut your face,” Levi attempted to push the vampire away. Unfortunately, a vampire’s strength was great enough to be proverbial. It was looming over Levi and the hunter couldn’t even budge.

He wasn’t sure himself where all that power from before had come from. Hell, he  _ wished  _ he knew, because then he’d summon it now and bash this asshole’s skull in. 

The vampire cackled madly. “I’ve a ssssssuggessssstion,” it leaned closer to Levi. “I’ll sssssssspare you. I’ll even let you have whatever you find in the ssssssscellar,” it continued. “But the nexssssssst time we meet, you better be sssssstronger. And then I’ll kill you both.”

“Why would you do that?” Levi asked with suspicion. He thought it was unwise to let an enemy go, especially an enemy still fit to fight. If he should let his opponent live, he’d first make sure they wouldn’t be able to go after him later.

“I ssssee great potenssssshal in you,” it replied. “You’re dissssstracted and your sssssenssssessss are weakened becausssse of the sssssmell. I know it makessss your sssstomach turn. We ssssshall meet under different ssssscircumsssstansssscessss.” It jumped to its feet, then upwards and vanished in the shadows under the ceiling. There were a few creaks indicating that it likely escaped through the attic.

Cussing, Levi stood up and began dusting himself off. He did not fully understand why in the world would the vampire let a vulnerable enemy get off scot-free, but as long as he lived, he was going to get that bastard next time. What it said was correct, though – even now, Levi had to fight the urge to hurl, and to fight anything else seemed nearly impossible. Now that his life wasn’t in imminent danger, the nausea came flying back with the velocity of a thrown hammer, and he could only silently curse his overly sensitive sense of smell.

Clenching his teeth, he turned to go outside again.

Upon reaching the doorway, he called out, “Oi, brat!”

“Yessir?” Eren rushed towards him, the crossbow in his hand thankfully pointed at the ground. 

Levi took it from him in silent disapproval, took back his bolts, and as he was putting them where they belonged, he started explaining. “Now,” he said, “we’ll both go inside. I’ve found some survivors and they’re all injured, and possibly all but one unconscious. I’m going to climb down into the cellar and you’ll help me pull them out as carefully as possible. Understood?”

Eren nodded, his eyes wide. “Yessir!”

“Oh, and… try to hold your breath.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's super short and ONLY TOOK ME LONGER THAN THE BIBLICAL RAINS WOULD PASS. FFS. (46 days. I counted.)  
> Anyway, here you go. Happy very belated new year.


End file.
